WASHINGTON – U.S. job openings remained exceptionally high at more than 10 million in September while the number of Americans quitting their jobs rose to a record high, indicating a tighter labor market.
There were 10.4 million job openings in September, a little lower than an upwardly revised 10.6 million in the previous month, but well above the 7.4 million unemployed workers in the U.S. labor force, the U.S. Labor Department reported Friday (Nov. 12).
Meanwhile, the quits level, which reflects the number of jobs that workers left voluntarily, rose to a record high of 4.4 million in September, according to the department.
Sarah House, a senior economist at Wells Fargo Securities, said the latest job opening numbers indicate that demand for labor remains “quite strong”.
“Openings continue to outstrip the number of workers officially counted as unemployed, in a sign that the labor market is tighter than even the 4.6% unemployment rate suggests,” House said Friday in a note, adding the number of unemployed workers per opening is now at its lowest rate ever at 0.73.
“The abundance of job openings is allowing workers to change jobs for greener pastures like never before. The quit rate rose to a fresh record-high of 3.0%,” she said.
The latest data suggest that U.S. businesses may have to continue to raise wages to attract workers, which could push inflation up further.
Over the past 12 months through October, the U.S. consumer price index (CPI) increased 6.2%, marking the largest 12-month increase since the period ending November 1990, according to the department. (Xinhua) – bny
